The Perfect Propsal
by rulerxofxnestleyland
Summary: James gives Lily quite a pleasant surprise. One-shot.


**The Perfect Proposal.**

**By**: Lilybean

**Summary**: James gives Lily a rather pleasant surprise. (One-shot)

**Author Notes**: Just a little plot bunny that had formed itself in my head in a free period at school and it wouldn't go away till I typed it down. My most very grateful thanks to my friend **Salma**, who beta-ed this for me and gave me the hot-air balloon idea and a few of James comments at the end. Love ya, girl!

Finally, I hope you enjoy my attempt of a one-shot. Thank you.

"Nooooo! Not the hat! PLEASE not the hat, James!" Sirius screamed in horror as his best friend held a pair of scissors in one hand and Sirius's favorite cowboy hat, grinning maniacally, threatening to destroy the beloved hat.

"Nu-uh. Give me the dung-bombs, Siri", James said sweetly, still grinning.

Sirius looked from the hat in danger to the dung-bombs in his hand, torn between deciding which to choose. Working it out in his head, he thought that the dung-bombs can be replaced but not his "booti-ful" hat, so he called it. He sighed in defeat.

"Alright, Prongs....but first give me the hat, then you get the bloody dung-bombs", he said, his mouth set like a little kid's.

"No way! The dung-bombs first, Padfoot!" James said, certain that Sirius was trying to fool him.

"Nu-uh! I get my booti-ful hat first! Then you get your stinky dung-bombs!"

"Sirius..."

"James..."

"Alright...we'll take 'em together", James decided.

Sirius considered. "...Ok. But no cheating!"

"Deal".

They approached each other cautiously and grabbed their things from the other's hand.

"Ahh!" Sirius exclaimed happily, hugging his hat to his chest and kissed it, James looking at him like he was demented and shook his head.

"What's going on here?" A feminine voice asked. The two nineteen year olds turned to the door to see a petite red-head with sparkling emerald eyes, smiling at them fondly. James grinned and went over to hug her.

"Hey baby", he murmured, nuzzling her neck.

"Mmm hey", Lily whispered back, and kissed his lips softly.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Now don't you go all lovey-dovey in front of me!" he said making a face.

"Aww Sirius. One would've thought you got used to us by now", Lily laughed.

"Well, I didn't. So go do it somewhere else", Sirius said and flashed a grin.

James and Lily had gotten together in their seventh year at Hogwarts and were now going out for almost a year and a half.

"Fine", James said pouting and gave Sirius a hurt look. Sirius stuck his tongue out.

Lily chuckled. They hadn't change one bit since Hogwarts. The same old troublemakers.

James shook his head then looked at Lily. "How come you're here? Wasn't I supposed to be coming to your apartment?"

"You were, but I figured we'll just go together as I was passing here".

"Walking again?"

"Exercise is good, Jamie", she said and kissed his cheek. "Let's go".

"Hold on. James, a word?" Sirius interrupted.

"Sure. Lily?" James said and looked at her.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll wait outside", she said and went over to Sirius for a hug, then left.

"Padfoot-"

"Everything's perfect man, don't worry. I made all the arrangements. Tomorrow right?"

"Yup, tomorrow", James said smiling, his eyes taking a far-away look. Sirius smiled as well. Lily made him happy. "Thanks mate".

Sirius waved his hand in dismissal, clearly telling him it was nothing. "Good luck, man", he said and thumped James' back.

"Thanks, Padfoot...I'll need it", James smiled at his friend.

"Go on now. Your girlfriend's waiting!" Sirius grinned.

"Okay. See ya, Paddeh!" James said and walked out.

"Don't call me that!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, ok Lils?" James said and wrapped her in a strong embrace, kissing the top of her head. "I want you ready by 6:30 sharp tomorrow night".

Lily looked up at him. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise", he winked.

She pouted, "No hints?"

"Nope", he shook his head.

"Okay then", she sighed.

"You'll love it, baby", he said. "I have to go now".

He leaned down and kissed her softly, tantalizingly, their lips playing with each other.

"I love you. Bye James", she smiled.

"I love you too. Bye Lil", he hugged her one last time before leaving her apartment.

"He didn't even give you a tiny hint?" Lily's best friend Arabella Figg asked, very disappointed.

"Nope", Lily shook her head and took a bite out of her burger.

"Aww. Well it's ok, as you'll find out anyway".

"Mhm", she hummed. "Lunch break's almost over..." she glanced at her watch.

"Yup. 5 minutes left", Arabella said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I'm done. Hurry up".

Lily took the last bite into her mouth and wiped her mouth as well, then got up. They walked back from the lunch room to the Department of Mysteries, where they worked. Lily walked slowly, her head to the floor, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Arabella asked, perfectly knowing what the matter was, and grinned inwardly to herself.

"Nothing, nothing", she replied, flashing her a false cheery smile.

"You sure?" Bella asked, seeing right through her façade.

"Yup. Ah, here we are", Lily said and opened the door to their office.

"Moody said he brought some files in here..."

"Here they are", Lily grabbed the files off the desk and threw them to Bella, who barely caught them. "Check 'em out, Bella. And I'll check our mail..."

"Ugh. Not this..." Lily grumbled, throwing dress after dress onto her bed. "It must be here somewhere..." she said, continuing to dig into her closet.

"Aha!" she exclaimed triumphantly and held out THE dress in front of her. Her best dress.

It was a dark blue spaghetti strap dress, that reached to a few inches above her knees, and clung in exactly the right spots. It was simple, but sexy all the same. She was sure James would love it. It was slightly crinkled by being squished in her way-too-full closet, but that can be taken care of.

She put a anti-crinkle charm on it then went to shower. She used her strawberry shampoo and soap, lathering her hair and body with them. She pulled her robe on after finishing, going over to her dresser. Lily put a charm to dry her hair then put on her dress. It looked perfect.

She decided to keep her hair down, and put a charm on it to give it an extra bounce. Now for make up. She put some foundation, mascara, blush and some lip gloss. Not very over, just enough to show. She glanced at the clock. About 5 minutes left.

She grabbed her black heels and put them on, then finally went to the full-length mirror to check her appearance. Perfect. She had to admit, she looked quite good.

James took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and the butterflies that had erupted in his stomach as he stood in front of her apartment door. _It's just Lily, _he said to himself, then rang the doorbell.

He shuffled his feet a bit, and waited. Finally, he heard footsteps and Lily opened the door. He stared at her, his mouth hanging open, stunned.

Lily laughed. "You like?" She asked, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Wow..." he nodded and hugged her. "You're beautiful", he whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself...", she smiled. "Come in, sweetie, and I'll go get my purse".

"Nah, it's alright. I'll wait here", he said.

"Alright", she replied and went back to get her purse, returning a mere moments later.

"Let's go".

"Hold on", James said and brought out a handkerchief from his pocket and started to blindfold her.

"James, wha-?" Lily asked, confused, as the piece of cloth wrapped around her head, effectively covering her eyes.

"I don't want you peeking".

"But...but, I can't see!" Lily said, frantically waving her arms in front of her.

James laughed and caught her arms, kissing her hands. "That's my intention, sweetheart. That you don't see. Let's go", he said, holding her hand and leading her out of the building and into his car. James, thank to Lily, had learned all the muggle ways including the "fellytone" and even used them. He opened the door for her and sat her in, then went to the driver's door and sat himself, starting the engine.

"Where are you taking me, James?" Lily asked after a few minutes.

James glanced at her and put a hand over hers, his other on the wheel. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do", was the immediate answer.

"Good. Then you're gonna love this", his smiled evident in his voice and she smiled back. James drove silently, trying to remember the way to that special place he had made ready for Lily. He finally pulled over and looked at the sight before him, smiling and silently thanked Sirius.

"Are we here?" Came Lily's anxious voice.

"Yeah, we're here, baby", he said and got out of his seat and to the other side of his car. He opened Lily's door and pulled her over to the magnificent sight, then stood behind her and slowly opened the blindfold. Lily blinked a few times, then finally adjusted to the light, gasped in shock.

"Oh my God..." she said, staring at the huge hot air balloon. It was red, with "James and Lily" written on one side, and their picture on the other, the one which they had taken at Hogwarts, at the Yule Ball in their seventh year. Lily spun around to face him her eyes bright and flung her arms around him, making him take a few steps back from the force.

He laughed. "You like?"

"I LOVE it, James", she said, releasing him. "You did all this for me?"

James nodded. "Of course", he grinned.

Lily smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you".

"There's more!" he said and pulled her to the hot air balloon then helped her inside. Lily blinked in surprise. James had put a charm on it so the inside was much more bigger than it looked from the outside. The first thing that had caught her attention was three dwarves that were standing next to a table served for two, and on top of the table was...a birthday cake! James hadn't forgotten her birthday after all! The dwarves began to sing the traditional "Happy Birthday" song in their weird hoarse voices which made her crack up, laughing. James came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, singing along softly, laughing as well and pushing her toward the table gently. He handed her a knife and she cut off a piece, feeding it to James. Then James in turn took a piece and fed it to her.

"Happy birthday, Lils", he smiled.

"Thank you so much James", she smiled and hugged him. "I love you".

"I love you too", he replied, waving at the dwarves to go behind her back. They disappeared with soft pops which Lily didn't seem to notice. She let go of James and looked round them, seeing that they weren't on the ground anymore. She walked over to the edge and stared out in awe, breathing in deeply. James came up beside her, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

"It's beautiful..." she whispered.

James kissed the top of her head. "Not as much as you, honey".

She smiled up at him, and he leaned down and kissed her, both his arms wrapping around her waist and hers looping around his neck. Even the softest of kisses drove James' mad. He could never get enough of her, he thought, while running a hand through her hair.

"Ready for dinner?" James whispered when they broke apart. Lily looked over at the table that was now laden with food. She looked at him in surprise. How did all the food manage to get there?

He shrugged at her scrutinizing look and grinned. "It's magic", he said and they both laughed. James pulled out a chair for Lily.

"Milady".

Lily sat down. "Good sir".

James chuckled as he sat down across from her and they started eating, talking as they did, happy to be in each other's company. Before they knew it, they had already finished and James started to fidget nervously.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, noticing his nervousness.

"Hmm? Oh nothing..."

"You sure?"

"Yeppers", he beamed. "I've got one more surprise for you", he got up and went to Lily's side of the table and turned her to face him.

"Another surprise?"

James nodded eagerly. "Close your eyes".

Lily looked at him in dismay. "Again?"

"Please baby, for the last time, I promise", he said, giving her his best puppy look.

Lily gave in, sighing. "Alright".

"No peeking!"

"Ok, ok".

James took a deep breath and got down on one knee in front of Lily, taking out a small box out of his pocket, and opened it, holding it in front of him.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Yeah".

Lily blinked, getting adjusted to the light and gasped at the ring that was in James' hand. It was breathtaking. It was a silver ring, with a diamond on top, with tiny red rubies surrounding it.

"Lily...this is a token of my love for you", James said, his eyes showing all the love he had for her. "I hope you'll accept it".

Lily's eyes were shining with unshed tears. "James, I...I don't know what to say..."

"Say yes, Lily. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have my kids with you. I want to wake up each day to your beautiful face. I don't want to live one day without having you in my arms."

Lily sat there, dumbstruck, then after a moment regained her mind and yelling "Yes!" joined James on the floor, kissing him passionately, tears streaming down her face as she looked at him happily. James smiled softly at her, wiping her tears and pushing a stray lock of hair from her face behind her ear.

Lily held out her hand for him and he slipped the ring onto her finger. It was the perfect size.

"I love you, Lily Evans".

"I love you too, James Potter".


End file.
